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13 Nov, 2014

Banks fined £2.6bn, leaving London’s reputation in tatters – The Independent

In one of the darkest days in the histories of the City and Wall Street, six major banks were have been fined a total of £2.6bn by regulators. A seventh, Barclays, is still in talks over the size of its penalty.

The punishments came after an inquiry by watchdogs in Britain, the US and Switzerland into rigging of the foreign-exchange market. Over £3trn is traded daily on the international currency market, and the banks’ traders were found to have manipulated prices.

What was shocking, even by the standards of the scandals of the past few years, was what regulators portrayed as the arrogance of the bank employees. They formed groups and gave themselves nicknames such as “the A team”, or “the Three Musketeers”. They communicated with each other via chatrooms.

via Shame in the City: £2.6bn fine leaves London’s reputation in tatters – Business Comment – Business – The Independent.